Saturday, February 25, 2017

I understand that it is hard to
fathom or comprehend my optimism based on what you see and hear in the news and
on every TV channel in America and globally. Let me explain.

I do not see the world through
rose-tinted glasses or suggest that things are hunky-dory. I see the same turmoil: civil wars, terrorist attacks and the potential descent of stable democracies
into chaotic anarchy.

In fact, I see chaos growing and I also have
absolutely no doubt that things are going to get much uglier, globally and here
in America, in the short-term. I see all the same things you do but I also see
something you may not - yet.

I have spent the last couple of years getting
actively involved in a number of social issues in India, and as part of an
organisation in America that brings together accomplished people from many
fields, from journalism and marketing to banking and politics. Through this
organisation and my personalefforts I have had the opportunity to listen to and engage
with a broad spectrum of corporate, social and political leaders, behind closed doors. I
have also spent time engaging with extreme right and left wing voices, on
Twitter, both in India and America.

In these interactions and in-depth
conversations, I have listened closely and learned much more than I could ever
learn from watching the news or reading articles that increasingly tilt left or
right, but are always filled with one-sided opinions.

Here is the reason for my optimism. I have been heartened to see that many of the people I have met and worked with no longer see
the world through a markedly liberal or conservative lens. Like me, they see a world filled with serious and pressing
problems that no politician is willing to take on or solve in a manner that
goes against their party base or donor interests.

Time and again we have found that
it is politicians who have been the fundamental roadblock to solving issues
because they invariably put pseudo-ideological and big money interests ahead of
meaningful solutions. From the refugee crisis, to understanding the motivations
of jihadists, to helping get young girls out of the sex trade - there are many
brilliant solutions available that simply cannot be affected because our
leaders lack the political will and integrity (and fear losing their
popularity) to fight for them.

The people I have worked and
engaged with are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent and come from
virtually every political
stripe, but not one of them is slave to party affiliation or ideology. They are slaves only to solutions that work,
and they refuse to accept less effective solutions
merely to placate some personal ideology or partisan bias.

I call us the
post-partisans.

We often vehemently disagree with
each other but always do so civilly and respectfully.

We have found that heated debate,
one that features a multitude of diverse viewpoints, leads to the most
innovative and breakthrough solutions. But we never take any of what is
discussed to heart or personally.

We also choose never
to take offense, even if sometimes in the heat of debate, it is intended. Not because we are without feelings, but because we remind ourselves that the problems we face
are bigger and far more pressing than ego or hurt feelings.

We always come with an open mind. Our
goal is also never to try and get others to see the world the way we do,
but to find the brightest, most cost-efficient
and lasting solutions to the problems that affect us all, irrespective of our
politics.

Through our dealings, conversations
and our work we have realised that political parties can no longer be relied on
to lead us forward or solve the problems we face.

Over the last three decades
political parties, left
and right have deteriorated further into an
ideological abyss. They have allowed the most hardened and extremist voices
within their ranks to take the reins, and are no longer able to offer
thoughtful or pragmatic solutions. Instead, their solutions are built for
populist rabble rousing or designed to pander to some narrow interest group.

The post-partisan mentality is a
growing movement across the world. It consists not of people who identify as liberal or conservative,
but of a coalition of the willing (not like
those who invaded Iraq in 2003!), who are passionate
about a cause. They consist of people from vastly different backgrounds,
upbringing, skill sets and political views who
find each other because we are looking for apolitical and uncompromised
solutions. Many of us will never become friends, but we will often find ourselves on the same side of a problem
and remain together until we find and implement a robust
solution.

I am not suggesting that all this
will happen overnight or magically mitigate the pain and suffering in the
world. I have realised that pain and suffering are part of the human condition,
and while we must always strive to lessen each other’s, we also cannot function
without them. Remember that there could be no courage if there is no adversity,
and good cannot triumph without evil. Real societal change, that requires changing
attitudes and mindsets, always takes a generation or more to affect and there is no way
around that.

So the rise of populists,
nationalist and narcissists
do not scare us, but has been a great
motivating factor for all post-partisans; we gladly accept the challenge. Their
effect has been to end our complacency and serve as a necessary wake up call,
one that reminded us that it is naïve to expect
democracy to be safeguarded by coming out to vote once every few years or by entrusting
it to a corrupt and ideologically bent political class intent on defending their
power, at all costs.

It will not be easy but nothing worth doing ever is. The
road ahead is arduous and the journey painful (and sometimes bloody) but one
thing I know for sure is that we will overcome and our democracies will become
stronger for it. The future is very bright and
the number of post-partisans will only continue to grow.

My mother once told me something that I never fully appreciated or understood until now – she said, “the job of a parent is
not to protect their child from the world but to prepare them for it.”